Everything Comes With A Price
by Court Jester 21
Summary: Based on spoilers. Time will tell if my predictions are accurate...


_Here's my take on what I think we'll see happening at this fancy event the promos keep alluding to. Not necessarily what I'd vote for, but we'll just see how it all plays out. I'd start taking bets. . . but. . . yeah, that's just not a good idea. Enjoy!_

_If it were up to me, Peter would have been killed off in season 1 and we would have a Will/Alicia wedding by now. (Ok, ok, maybe not killed. That was a bit dramatic, wasn't it?) Obviously, I have nothing to do with the show._

Alicia sat unobserved, luxuriously soaking up her quiet moment sitting in a corner of the room. They were always seated front and center at these things and she was grateful for the opportunity for a little peace amongst the chaos.

And it was chaos. She lifted her wine glass to her lips, nearing the bottom of the glass. She would soon have to venture from her quiet corner to refill her drink. She was slightly tempted to sip from the drinks left abandoned at the table by the people unfortunate enough to be seated back here at the beginning of the evening. But she shook her head at that idea, temporarily wondering if Grace had a point about her drinking habits.

But, she argued with herself, she needed alcohol to keep up her façade. She had to wear the face of the campaign here. She and Peter had deliberately been cozy all evening, a display to show that their marriage was on the mend. And honestly, things were improving between them. They were in a comfortable place that Alicia never suspected that they would be in. But she knew that the day was coming when they'd have to talk about more and she'd have to make a commitment to a decision.

Such thoughts were for other moments. She finished off the glass of wine and scanned the room, debating whether it was safe to leave her chair. She noticed Peter entering the room, coming back from God knows where, and from across the large banquet room she could tell he was upset. She was good at reading him, and she hoped that the others here tonight didn't notice his anger the way she did.

He seemed to be searching the room for her, and so she stood with a sigh and walked toward him. When he saw her, difficult to miss in her stunning red gown, he motioned that she come with him as he turned and left the room again. His motion was gruff, his eyebrows matted in an expression that frightened her a bit. What was going on?

When she entered the hallway outside the banquet room, she found Peter pacing in an alcove far from the entrance to the room where Chicago's political socialites were busy networking. Something was definitely wrong. As she approached him, she grew nervous of what was to come. What could have him this upset?

"Peter, what is it?" she asked as she neared him. He didn't answer, tilting his head down at her and waiting for her to come closer. He gripped her arm above the black satin glove she wore and propelled her further away from the earshot of others. His grip was tight, his face tense and now that she was so close to him, she could tell by the short breaths he drew in and out through his nostrils that he was livid. He was controlled, but he was livid.

"Alicia, I don't want you to say anything." The tone in his voice was even, deliberate, reminding her of the conversation they'd had when she had asked him to drop the grand jury for Will. "DON'T say anything," Peter emphasized, releasing her arm and taking a few steps back from her.

Alicia stood in shock, waiting for what would come next. Peter swallowed and then continued. "I've just talked to Kresteva. He's got information about you and Will and he's going to leak it tomorrow."

Alicia opened her mouth to speak, but Peter cut her off, pointing his finger in her direction as the words spewed out of his mouth. "Don't play dumb. You know what information he has. I know what information he has. Information. That's all we're calling it for now." His tone alluded to the knowledge that they shared, the nature of her relationship with Will and those few hot months they'd spent together. "Eli is on his way now. He'll want to talk to you." Peter began to walk away from her, trying to rejoin the crowd and distance himself from her.

"Peter," she pleaded before he was more than an arm's length away. She didn't reach out to stop him. She knew better than to try that with him now. He was steaming. Any change in pressure would set him off. But she could tread carefully.

He turned back, only half facing her as he said, "Not here, Alicia." Peter turned to walk back to the banquet hall.

Alicia turned back toward the wall, trying to process what had just happened. At that moment, she heard her name called out from behind her. It was Will's voice.

Will had stepped out into the hallway in search of Alicia, and her eye catching gown had drawn his attention before he noticed Peter in the hallway as well.

Peter stopped and turned back to see what was going on behind him, but he didn't say a word.

Alicia turned towards Will's voice, cursing at the irony that made this situation even worse than it already was.

"We got a call about Bishop," he said, walking towards her and noticing Peter's presence for the first time. "They need us now," he said, looking at her apologetically.

Unconsciously, Alicia turned to Peter. She wasn't sure what she meant. To ask his permission to leave his event? To apologize for having to leave his event? To apologize to have to delay Eli further? To apologize for everything?

Peter interpreted her expression and let out a sigh. His hands spread before him as he rolled his eyes and said sarcastically in the same tone he'd used with her just moments before, "Do you what you have to do, Alicia." Before either Will or Alicia could respond, he was walking away from them.

Alicia looked back to Will, silently agreeing to leave the event for work, and they headed towards the exit.

"Are you alright?" he asked as they walked away from the event. He was picking up on some cues that he had interrupted something and Alicia didn't seem like herself. All evening, she'd been doe eyed and hanging on Peter's arm. It had been painful to watch from a distance. Now she was silent and sullen, and he was concerned for her.

"I'm never alright," she grumbled quietly, and then sped up her pace toward the door to stay ahead of him. She wasn't having this conversation here.

They drove separately and then got caught up in the dilemma of the moment. Alicia was almost thankful for the distraction, because she had so much to focus on she didn't have time to worry about tomorrow. About the campaign, about her career, about her children and her marriage. About the press. About scandals. In all of the flutter of paperwork and investigation and questioning about the case, she couldn't stress about having to duck out to have awkward phone conversations with Eli. At one point, she looked down to realize she was still wearing her gown. She chuckled to herself She'd removed her gloves, but she was still way overdressed for an evening of lawyering. Her attire was the least of her worries.

At the end of the night, she found herself sitting across from Will, alone at last. "Will," she said, her voice dripping with anxiety. The time she'd had to process what had happened had relaxed her. Or maybe it was just the end of a long day. Either way, she was no longer in the frustrated, grumbling mood she'd been in when they left the event.

Will looked up, his eyebrows raised to question her. It was the only response he gave.

"I need to tell you what happened earlier this evening." She toyed with the phone she held in her hand, still waiting for the final okay from Kalinda that they had met their goals for tonight. "Mike Kresteva told Peter that he has something on us."

"Us?" Will questioned. "You and I?"

"Yes," Alicia confirmed, swallowing the lump in her throat. "He claims he's going to leak it tomorrow."

Will sat back in his chair, processing this once again. They hadn't prepared for this, back when they were sneaking around. They were careful, yes, but they hadn't prepared for how to handle this. And when it had seemed to flare up before, he was just relieved that they'd dodged the bullet. And now, could they dodge it now?

"Do we know what it is?" he asked, wondering what this mysterious evidence could be.

"Eli is working on it now. I don't know. I don't know if we can find out. Kresteva is sneaky and he won't play by the rules," she sighed, admitting defeat. She was resigned now that it would get out. It was not what she wanted, and she still hoped that she was wrong, but everything she knew about Kresteva told her he would stop at nothing. This was a gubernatorial race, after all. The stakes were pretty high.

Will just nodded, still processing what this meant. Alicia leaned forward, to continue. "Will, I don't know if we'll have another chance to talk before it gets out. How do you think we should handle this at work?"

He just looked at her, studying her eyes, reveling in their beauty and the terrible position he found himself in. He realized that she was calmer this time than she had been the last time she'd had to come to him with something like this. Did that mean that she was getting used to it? Mistaking his glance for confusion, she attempted to clarify herself. "I mean, it's going to look really, really bad that I was just made an equity partner over 4 of my peers. Who are now really pissed off, by the way."

Will nodded, acknowledging this place they were in. "Ok, I know, I know. Look, that decision was not mine alone. I had a small part in it, but it was made by a group of people. We can fall back on that. I-I lobbied for you when they wanted to only offer one partnership, but other than that, I wasn't very instrumental in it."

"Ok," she said, very unsure about what that meant.

"I mean, if it comes out, we'll deal with it. We'll get everyone on the same page and it will be fine."

"Everyone? Diane?" she asked, skeptically.

"Yes, for the good of the firm, yes. She'll be on our side."

"Ok, who else? You said everyone."

"David Lee," Will said, not missing the grimace that Alicia gave as the name hit her ears.

"Ok, well that could be a problem," she said.

"Look Alicia, we don't know what's going to happen. Eli is working his magic. Kresteva could be doing this just to see where we go and what we do. Let's just play it cool and wait to see what comes of it. It could be nothing. We were pretty careful."

"Ok," Alicia nodded, still not convinced that nothing was even a possibility. She paused a moment before adding, "I'm sorry that you're getting dragged into this mess." Her eyes softened as she spoke, adding sincerity to her words.

"No, Alicia, don't worry about it. I can handle it," he said confidently. Shifting gears a bit, he asked in a quiet voice, "Do you regret it?" He lifted his eyes to hers for just a second, judging her reaction.

"No," she said, without a waver or a doubt in her voice. "We were good together, weren't we?" she asked with a smirk.

"We were," Will returned, smirking as well, reviewing some of his favorite memories in his mind.

"So what's to regret?" she said, barely leaving room for the question. They exchanged glances and understood each other perfectly, if only for a moment.


End file.
